In article <h+5-5rn.bldunc at delphi.com> bldunc at delphi.com writes:
>From: bldunc at delphi.com>Subject: HAMA vs Heterophilic
>Date: Tue, 25 Apr 95 22:12:39 -0500
>Can someone supply be good definitions to differentiate these two?
HAMA is a anacronym to designate Human anti-mouse Antibodies and is often used
in relation to situations where a pharmaceutical product to be administered to
humans may have trace levels of murine IgG. If the product had sufficient
levels of murine IgG, it might induce an antibody response to mouse IgG
epitopes. This is usually not viewed with favor since it raises the potential
for allergic reactions upon subsequent injections of the pharmaceutical
product... something which the company obviously would not like tohappen.
Heterophil antibody is a generic term to describe antibodies which may react
with antigen that is quite common in nature, and consequently may be induced
by a variety of agents. A good example is the Forrsman antigen which is
carbohydrate in nature is is found on many cell surfaces, bacteria, and even
perhaps on some glycoproteins.
Hope this helps.
Rick Colling
rcolling at olivet.edu